>be me
>anon
>shoppin' inna gas station
>have an Arizona Ice Tea
>2 snickers bars
>a bottled water
>place them on the cashier's counter
>cute girl behind it flashes me a grin
>"A little warm tonight, right?"
>I give a little chuckle at the small talk
>"That's usual for Texas."
>she shrugs her shoulders at the remark before going to scan the items
>"I take it you're not used the the heat, right?"
>cashier shakes her head
>"No. I came down here from California."
>"It gets pretty hot in California."
>"In some spots, but I'm from Monterey."
>I quirk an eyebrow at her
>"Well, why move down here?"
>she returns her own questioning look
>"If you don't mind me asking."
>"Well, after the whole, uh.. convergence deal, my family kinda had it rough."
>I nod my head in understanding as she continues
>"So, my parents had moved out here when they retired right before it. After the thing happened, they had problems out here."
>she sighs in the middle of her explanation
>"I got worried about them, but they insisted I didn't come down. Well, about..."
>she turns her eyes up in thought
>"..2 months ago I got a call saying my gramps hurt his back pretty bad. I came down here to help around the land and work part time."
>she swipes the last item, the bottled water and looks back to me
>"That'll be 4.37, sir."
>I pay for the snacks and leave out the door  
>upon sitting back in my car, some old beat up late 90s Buick Riveira, I have to shake myself out a bit
>gotta seperate work and play
>pull out onto the dark highway from the empty parking lot of the seven eleven
>the soft glowing light dissapates from view and I'm left only the asphalt the headlights illuminate
>after about 45 minutes, I decide to pull over into the shoulder of the road
>turn the head lights off
>pop open the glove box on the passenger side and pull out the flash light I have
>put that in my lap and reach back into the glovebox
>pull out the .357 magnum Colt Trooper Mk. II and let it drop into my lap with the flash light
>shut off the car and step out with my tools ready
>step around to the trunk and pop it open
>as soon as this happens, something in the dark cavernous maw of the trunk flinches and start making muffled screaming
>shine a flash light onto the red, sweaty and flabby face of Jim Goodson
>a rotund man from east Texas who currently is bound and gagged and naked
>reach in and grab him by the scruff of his neck and yank him out
>he hits the ground and I shine the light into his eyes, the barrel of the Colt staring him down
>"Go on, Joe. Crawl."
>I signal with the barrel to head away from the road and he obliges
>once at a satisfactory distance, I command him to stop
>I go over and undo the rag on his mouth
>he stares at me, contempt in his eyes as he look between me and the gun
>"Y'know why you're here, Joe?"
>"Fuck you."
>"That's not nice."
>the flabby man scoffs at the comment
>"Your here because you owe Mr. Stromboli money. Money which you have."
>the fat man starts to shake his head at this
>"I don't have the money, brother."
>that's not a good answer
>"You live in Cleveland, right Joe?"
>I see him tense up in the harsh light, but he doesn't answer
>"I hear you have family there."
>"You son of a bitch! Stay aw-"
>the deafening sound of a hammer being pulled back silences him 
>"Joe... Do you have anything your friends call you by? I'm getting tired of calling you Joe."
>he lets out a few shaky breaths, eyes wide and unblinking towards me
>like prey
>"M-my friends call me Jay."
>"Alright, Jay. I'm not gonna hurt your family. I just need to know where the money is."
>he nods his head again, grimacing and then looks vack with pleading eyes
>"Please... I don't have it..."
>"That's not a good answer, Jay."
>Mr. Goodson shakes his head even harder this time, tears welling up in his eyes before he falls forward
>this is just embarassing
>"Please! I don't know! I swear to God! I just want to see my family again!"
>at this point he's sobbing
>I myself sit in silence for a few tense moments before de-cocking the hammer
>"I believe you."
>he looks up in utter shock, breathing still ragged but crying stopped
>"How many kids do you have, Joe?"
>"N-no, plea-"
>I cut him off before he starts blubbering again
>"Joe, I said I wouldn't hurt your family. Now I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a liar. If you ever imply I am a liar like that again, I'll kill you."
>he stifles his own crying down to a whimpering
>"Now, how many kids do you have?"
>"T-two..."
>"Two what, Jay?"
>"..A boy a-and a girl."
>balanced household
>"And your wife, Jay?"
>"... S-she's around..."
>"Well that's good, Jay. Sounds like you have a nice family."
>I take time to breath in the nice warm air of a Summer night
>"You were going out with the boys tonight, right?"
>Joe slowly nods his head as he stares up at me from his kneeling posistion
>"Did your wife know?"
>he looks away in shame before slowly shaking his head no
>"What'd you tell your wife?"
>"Why are you asking me this?"
>I cock the hammer back again
>"Answer the question, Joe." 
>47549636 #

...Thing Anon
12/06/20(Sun)23:03:42 No.47549636

>>47549626 #
>"I told her I was going out to help a friend with his car."
>"You know, it's bad to lie, Jay."
>I wave the gun at him lazily and he flinches in response
>"Also, you need to calm down. I still have more questions."
>go on questioning him through the night
>things like how long he's been married, what nick names he has for his family, etc.
>sometimes he questions my questions
>the reminder of a .357 magnum execution usually gets him to cooperate
>by the time we're done, I have enough of what I need to know
>"Alright, Joe. Looks like we're done here."
>raise the Colt's barrel toward his head and he starts freaking out
>"PLEASE! I JUST WANT TO SEE MY FAMILY AGAIN! PL-"
>kick him in the mouth
>"I said calm down Joe. Your family is going to see you alive and well again."
>he looks at me, at the barrel still aimed at his face , and back to me
>"Are... are you gonna shoot me?"
>"Yeah."
>he looks even more confused and even more horrified
>"But... but you said.."
>his voice is barely more than a whisper
>"Yeah, I did. I'm not a liar, Jay."
>this entire exchange, I know Joe hasn't been able to see my face
>he's been staring at a flash light, a gun, and a shadow of a person
>I slowly let the light tilt up to my face
>Mr. Goodson loses all color in his
>his mouth flaps open and closed, like a fish out of water as he sees his own face staring back at him
>"Your family is going to see you alive and well again. I never said you'd see them."
>Joe opens his mouth to scream, but it never comes
>a bullet through the lard choked throat ensures that